Muslim soldiers’ graves vandalized

Vandals defaced the graves of Muslim World War I soldiers in northern France and left behind a severed pig’s head at the cemetery, a prosecutor said.

Graves in the cemetery at Ablain-Saint-Nazaire were inscribed with anti-Islam slogans, and graffiti singled out Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who is of North African origin, a prosecutor in nearby Arras, Jean-Pierre Valensi, told France-Info radio. He said 148 tombs were targeted.

In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the vandalism a form of “unacceptable racism” and said he shares the pain of France’s Muslim community, the largest in Western Europe.